Charges against Piggly Wiggly dismissed

SHEBOYGAN - A federal agency last month dismissed charges against Tietz’s Piggly Wiggly, the south-side grocer that had been accused of violating workers' rights by not negotiating with a union and refusing to rehire 29 union employees after purchasing the store last year.

On April 4, the National Labor Relations Board issued a partial dismissal of the case and said there is insufficient evidence to show Tietz's Piggly Wiggly discriminated against employees by refusing to hire them based on their membership in a union.

The NLRB also dismissed charges the store avoided hiring former employees in order to avoid bargaining with the union and said there is insufficient evidence to show the 29 former employees were not rehired due to their support of the union.

"The dismissal confirms that the charges brought against Tietz’s Piggly Wiggly were unfounded," Mark Tietz, owner of Tietz's Piggly Wiggly, said in a statement. "The company acted lawfully with respect to the hiring of all the south store’s employees and remains committed to providing its employees high-quality, good-paying jobs."

The union has the opportunity to appeal the dismissal to the Office of General Counsel in Washington D.C. The union's legal representative did not return calls seeking comment.

The NLRB also dismissed remedies the union had requested, which would have included rehiring the affected workers and compensating them for lost wages.

Charges that Tietz threatened an employee with termination if the employee engaged in the union remain. However, Tietz disputes the claims and no legal recourse has been sought related to the allegation.

The regional office of the National Labor Relations Board initially issued a complaint in February, alleging there is reason to believe the store neglected to bargain with the union, took away union benefits and replaced union jobs by avoiding hiring union members.

Tietz, who also purchased the north-side Piggly Wiggly in 2009, took ownership of the south-side store on Sept. 11, 2016. Union members filed the unfair labor practices charges later the same month.